Choosing Faith
by McSgwizzle
Summary: The senior year when Cosmo and Wanda started their relationship is all Cosmo needs to reflect on to find the right words to propose to Wanda. (One-shot, 'Floating with You' references.)


**Author's note: The way that Cosmo and Wanda met has varied so many times during the show, so I'm sticking with the 'Floating with You' version. The proposal is my own take on it. Enjoy!**

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It was a known fact that Cosmo didn't have much of a way with words.

The green fairy often wished his mouth could speak the thoughts he was thinking. But even then, it required a lot of slow thinking a 'typical' fairy would never have the patience for until he could actually get his thoughts straight without being so easily distracted. Even worse, he'd sometimes say the things that weren't meant to be said or heard, resulting in someone being offended or just flat out making a fool out of himself.

And that made tonight even more nerve racking...

...but that was only a portion of how worried he was.

She was everything to him. She was what he'd never imagine to be his. She was everything that allowed him to look forward to a better future. She was the one who listened to him. She was the one who didn't turn her back. She was the one who didn't point fingers, who didn't seclude him, who didn't beat him physically nor mentally. She was the one who loved him despite what he was known to be. She was the one who chose to be with him despite what others told her. She was the one who helped him pass high school. She was the one who left another for him. She was the one who allowed him access to her heart. She was the one who trusted him with her own love.

Wanda.

Cosmo couldn't say there was much to look forward to in his life, before. Not until he met Wanda. He thanked his lucky stars every day that he actually took that part-time job at that diner. He'd seen her in previous passings around school, as her name was relatively well known with most crowds. But, never had they met directly. The summer leading up to their senior year was truly when both their lives changed forever.

She was lost until he found her. Even though Cosmo's reputation of being the school's scape goat in school undeniably made his daily life difficult, Wanda had just as many hardships in a different way. Her mother's death from a few years back took its definite toll. Up until meeting Cosmo, her mom was the only one that made the effort to at least try and understand Wanda's feelings. It would've been suspected that Wanda's mother dying would bring her and her sister closer to her father, but indeed it was the exact opposite. Nowadays, it seemed all Big Daddy was focused on was his ever growing business as a way of trafficking his grief. And if anything, Blonda would probably be the subject of the attention he had left to offer. According to Wanda's father, her dream of godparenting was no job worthy to be called a business of it's own. No daughter of his would work at a job that didn't uphold the fairy race, but instead focused on the priorities of human children. Obviously, Wanda disagreed. She believed in the goodness fairies could bring to children who were lost without anyone listening to them. Maybe because she knew a great deal about being lost without help, as well. People at school were no better, either. Alongside a boyfriend who rarely asked how she felt and only prioritized her for her beauty and style while spending the time talking about only himself, there were very few people who truly bothered to ask Wanda how she felt. A cheerleader uniform, tight pink ponytail, and bright smile was enough for them to assume she was as happy as could be. It was as though she was screaming for help but no one could hear her. So, yes. Wanda was indeed very, very lost.

But, Cosmo listened.

Even if he didn't always understand, he listened with a welcoming heart.

A darker part of Wanda wondered if maybe that's why her father had always disapproved of Cosmo. Despite his common excuse of 'eh, he's a moron, you could do better,' she believed maybe her father was scared she wasn't shaping up to be like him. Molding right into what he wanted her to be. Cosmo, even if he didn't always understand, still made the effort to listen to Wanda. Something both Big Daddy and Blonda greatly lacked. Cosmo and Wanda didn't just make each other happy by being who they were to each other, they brought the best out of themselves and realized how much better their lives could actually be. Wanda was in no shape or form to run her father's business or be a Fairywood star like her sister, it just wasn't her. And Cosmo's effort to listen brought out her ambition more, being a godmother, putting good into this world, further keeping her focus on her dream, and therefore further disappointing her father.

Something Wanda and Cosmo did have in common was that their dreams aligned.

To say Cosmo had a rough time in high school would be taking it lightly. The constant bullying and teasing had pushed him over the edge enough times, where he seemed to spend days wondering if he really was worth much. Not with the constant comments of 'you're stupid or 'you're a moron.' And despite what it seems, Mama Cosma wasn't the best at securing the help he needed as she was built up to be. Her hugs and sweet words would give the comfort Cosmo needed, but never the help. The school's academic advisors would try their best to convince Cosmo's mother that extra help might just be what he needs to accomplish his goals of graduating so that he may be a godparent like he wished. Mama Cosma would disagree. She assured over and over to both Cosmo and teachers that he just needed to get their on his own time. But as time passed, there was no sign of him getting better. He needed the effort, and deep down, Mama Cosma knew it. It became obvious to those around her why she was giving such phoney reasoning to why Cosmo didn't need any academic help for how he wanted to pursue his dream. If there was any chance of Cosmo being taken away from her, it was unaccepted. It was a dark truth, but in reality, Mama Cosma was what was holding him back. Cosmo just didn't know it until later. What hadn't changed though, was why exactly he wanted to godparent that his mother didn't understand. In his big, goofy, beautiful, beautiful heart, he knew helping kids was cool. Any child that got the chance to be helped by magical wish granters sounded beyond lucky in Cosmo's mind. Why shouldn't he be the one who got to do it? He was fun, and human children love that, right? He could be the one who made a change in a kid's life by making them smile. By helping them. However, how could he help a kid when there was no one to help him? Despite his belief in his Mama that things would get better on his own time, even in a mind as slow as Cosmo's, somewhere deep down he knew something needed to be done. That was it. Cosmo needed help, and his mother nor anyone else would dare venture to that limit.

But, Wanda helped.

Even if she needed more patience than usual, she helped with an open mind.

Surprisingly, Mama Cosma's attitude towards Wanda started off pretty normal. In her eyes, Cosmo simply had a new friend. There was nothing wrong with that, as long as she didn't distract him from the fact that he had a mother. But when his grades suddenly improved, and his confidence increased, she knew this girl's presence was making a difference. And even worse than that, Cosmo was absolutely, positively, undeniably over the moon crazy in love with her. Frantically, Mama Cosma would make excuses as to why he should stop hanging around Wanda, many resulting in the fact that 'she's a spoiled brat, sweetie.' Thus, increasing her disliking of Wanda to the point where neither Cosmo or Wanda would hang around each other's households out of discomfort.

And that diner. That blessed diner was the start of the biggest year of change in their lives.

The fight with their parents for their love wasn't the entire battle. Cosmo and Wanda couldn't deny the stares, the whispers, the 'warnings' from other fairies in their respected high school cliques. Often, it would be hard enough to get through the day without being called crazy for being with someone who was not worth their time, resulting with the two of them spending the late afternoon reminding each other that no opinion big or small was strong enough to pierce through their love for each other. It really just seemed like everyone's life goal was to destroy their happiness that they've been missing.

Even more, Wanda was already in a relationship when her and Cosmo met. Juandissimo Magnifico, the name was incredibly well known. Their relationship had already been deteriorating when Wanda met Cosmo. But, only in Wanda's eyes. Juandissimo was far off from that idea. In a way, Wanda liked to think that Cosmo had rescued her from that relationship. Her hero. Even though she was the one who made up her mind and dumped Juandissimo, she knew she probably would've kept leading it on in denial had she not met Cosmo. Hoping that whatever doubt she was feeling would pass. Honestly, Big Daddy didn't think much of Juandissimo either, but it still wasn't compared to what he thought of Cosmo.

It started off simple. Instead of trying desperately to talk to Juandissimo about herself, she all of a sudden just wanted to talk about Cosmo. This extraordinary fairy that just always seemed to put a smile on her face. The more ignorant her father or anyone would be, Wanda would try talking to Juandissimo, but it would result in him talking only about himself and assuring Wanda, 'Mi amor, you're with me, there is no reason to worry about anything.' Fed up, Wanda would go to Cosmo as a second option. Who would immediately ask what's wrong by the look on her face. She would tell him, and tell him. Even if there were big words or phrases he couldn't understand, Wanda saw in his eyes, that he wanted to understand. He wanted to know her. And that was enough. It got to the point where Wanda wouldn't go to Juandissimo at all, and just straight to Cosmo. And as she began to notice the little things, like how much fascination he had towards her, the way his smile never wilted, the wonder his beautiful eyes carried, how he made her laugh, the effort he made that everyone lacked, the way she began to touch or playfully beat his shoulder, wanting to hold his hand, the thought of kissing him...Wanda realized that she had it, and she had it bad for Cosmo.

And despite her feelings, Wanda knew she had to break up with Juandissimo before she did something she regretted. Even though she came to the conclusion that Juandissimo had not been treating her right in their relationship, Wanda was honourable, and would let him off the hook before she'd end up doing something crazy like straddling Cosmo in kisses. She wouldn't cheat. Thinking about being with Cosmo while she was already in a relationship was the first step to cheating, and it truly scared Wanda. But mostly, it gave her a reality check. She needed to be with the right fairy, and Juandissimo just wasn't that. Soaking up her courage, Wanda broke it off, and it of course wasn't easy. When she gave the excuse that she loved something else and she couldn't carry on their relationship, Wanda was surprised that Juandissimo seemed to know it was Cosmo. Maybe all her talk about him really did get into his head. Of course, his threat towards teaching Cosmo a lesson made Wanda livid. She warned him not to lay a hand on him, because Cosmo had done absolutely nothing wrong. Though Wanda knew that the green fairy had a huge crush on her for a while, she knew as well that Cosmo still wasn't going to try anything because of her relationship with Juandissimo. It broke his heart doing so, but he wouldn't. Juandissimo became one of many with the judgements towards their relationship, but he never laid a physical hand on Cosmo, and that was enough for Wanda. His words were harsh, but Wanda kept fighting. She would fight for her relationship, and she would fight for Cosmo.

It was the toughest year of their lives, but in the end, truly worth it for what they got from each other. In the end, they came through the other side of the tunnel. And with the help Wanda gave towards Cosmo, they both got to graduate with their heads held high. And their love for each other only became stronger as they pursued to train to be godparents.

Now, if only Cosmo could put all those thoughts into words for Wanda, as he stared down at the gold band in his palm.

It had been nearly four years since they graduated. Despite the dodging of their parents for their relationship, their training to be godparents was coming to an end before they were official godparents. Being assigned to a kid would take quite a while, they knew that, but they would be ready soon.

Things definitely changed. Despite those who hated their relationship, Cosmo and Wanda tried to keep the few friends who did support their love close. Physically speaking, Cosmo was no longer a brace face and his acne had improved greatly. Though it cleared up thanks to tips from Wanda, a great deal of it was from his lessen of anxiety since high school. As for Wanda, she tried embracing her natural self. Her hair had been natural waterfalls of swirly it's whole life, but in high school, thanks to people's tips that seemed more like harsh judgement, she would keep the minimum of one swirl in the front and straighten the rest into a tight ponytail. But Cosmo's insistence of how much he loved her naturally swirly hair changed her perspective over the years. He noticed that tonight as she kept a signature swirl pinned in the front with the rest of her natural pink swirls held back in a much more loosened ponytail that fell to her shoulders gently above the spaghetti-strap yellow sundress she wore.

By the fairy gods, was she beautiful.

The last time they had parked a car atop this hill looking over Fairy World, Cosmo goofed up and ended up having them both fly off the cliff. Wanda had spent a whole week in the hospital because of it. He was wary this time to keep his arm distant from the gear stick, as he didn't want to mess tonight up. He ripped apart his entire house looking for the family engagement ring his father left behind for him, convinced Mama Cosma had hidden in out of spite of their relationship. He forced himself to remember a speech that he had prepared weeks in advance. He panicked as the words he forced himself to remember slipped from his mind, a bead of sweat surely making it's way down his face.

"Cosmo, are you okay?"

He closed a fist around the ring and hid it in his sweater pocket, looking towards Wanda. He must've looked horrified because her face was full of concern. "Yes." He managed to squeak.

Wanda creased her brow in worry. "Baby, what is it?"

Oh, how he desperately didn't want her to reject him.

Nervously, Cosmo took her hand and led her out of the car. They floated to the patch of grass right in front, getting a better view of the lights of Fairy World bellow them. Wiping sweat from his brow, Cosmo turned to look Wanda in her eyes.

"I keep forgetting words." Was the first thing out of his mouth. "So, can you listen? Just listen?"

Wanda's worry seemed to change lanes, and Cosmo realized that was probably not a good way to start off. He realized that this was going to take all night if he tried nailing every right thing to say, so he didn't know what he was waiting for.

"I...I love you, Wanda." Cosmo swallowed.

Her face softened. "I love you, too."

He wiped more sweat from his forehead, and gave a nervous chuckle. "I, well...when I look at-I mean, when I'm with you..." he paused, looking for the right words in his mind. "I feel really..."

In frustration, Cosmo sighed. He already sounded like an idiot. Wanda, bewildered as to where he was trying to get to, knew he was trying to say something important. And it killed him that he couldn't say what he wanted to. But, she wouldn't feed him words, because she also knew he wanted them to be his own.

So instead, she brushed his lips to his. Through surprise, as Cosmo didn't expect that to happen so early, not at least until he pulled out the ring, he still kissed back. He longed to feel her lips on his more often than they already were. It was such a good feeling.

Wanda pulled away and brushed a stray lock of green hair from his face. "It's okay. I believe in you." Her belief in him made his heart flutter. She always seemed to know the right thing to say.

In that moment, he knew he didn't have to speak from his mind. Just from his heart.

"I-I...never thought anything good would happen to me in my life." Cosmo shrugged. "But Wanda, I think you _are_ the good that happened to me..."

In the midst of the darkness of the late evening, Cosmo could make out sudden tears threatening the borders of Wanda's eyes. He tensed, knowing he was the one who made her cry. Wanda could read his mind.

"These are happy tears. Keep going." She assured, wiping her eyes.

Cosmo swallowed. "You didn't..." he stopped and corrected himself with a content sigh, "you never were like the others. You didn't...tell me to disappear."

With sympathetic eyes, Wanda reached a hand to stroke his cheek. However after a few brief moments, he took hold of it and brought it against his heart. He wouldn't be driven away from the question he so desperately needed to ask her. Cosmo didn't break his gaze from her's.

Wanda could feel the pounding of his heart through her palm as he continued slowly. "You actually wanted me around. And you...aren't just any fairy that wanted me..you're, well...Wanda. And that's like...the best kind." Through his sentiment, Cosmo grimaced just a bit thinking that sounded odd. But, Wanda didn't flinch for one second. This was his raw emotion, and she was soaking up every little bit of it, because it was her's and only her's to have.

"I use to think only smart people could have love..." He squeezed her hand. "But, I was wrong about that like everything."

Suddenly, Cosmo felt a hot leak run down his own cheek as he stared at Wanda. He couldn't hide the sudden smile from looking at her when he realized this was it. She was all his, and knew she would say yes.

"I'm not a smart fairy, but..." Cosmo hitched a sudden sob. "...I think I know how to love."

Holding both her hands now, he nodded in certainty. "We're almost done training. I want to be a good godparent. But, I think I want to be a good one with you, more..."

And suddenly, he was kneeling on one knee.

Wanda covered her mouth with her hand and muffled a sob as Cosmo reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. A gold band with the smallest of jewels. But, it was perfect. It was all perfect in Wanda's eyes.

He looked up at her with glossy eyes. "Wanda, will you marry me...?"

Wanda sniffed. "Yes, Cosmo." She choked through tears.

Cosmo didn't have to get up because Wanda had weakly fallen to her knees in front of him. Her tears had wet her cheeks completely and they only fell more as Cosmo slipped the ring onto to her finger with such careful focus, almost as though he was afraid she'd disappear and that this moment would vanish from existence.

Locking his teary eyes with her's, he shuddered a breath into a smile. Wanda briefly pressed her palms to his chest to truly stare into his eyes before snaking them around his neck. Slipping his arms around the dress that hugged her waist, they were drawn into a touching kiss. Cosmo's hands wandered from her waist to her back, carefully caressing the silk crepe material of her yellow dress, momentarily touching her wings that seemed to fall restfully from his touch. The damp grass they remained kneeled upon wet their clothes, but it could've mattered less.

Cosmo pulled back momentarily and kissed her underneath her jawline. "Thank you, Wanda. Thank you for choosing to love me..."

Wanda sighed lovingly from the sweet words that followed his affectionate kisses. "No, thank you, Cosmo."

He pulled back to look at her.

She held her hands to his face as his remained around her waist. "Cosmo, I was drowning in pressure from everyone around me, and it only lead me to my own self-hatred. No matter what I did, it was never enough. No one listened. You saved me." She hitched a few more tears and kissed his cheek. "You saved me..." she whispered contently against him.

Wanda let herself just sink against his chest, Cosmo momentarily burying his face into her hair and breathing steadily. He closed his eyes and smiled, knowing everything was exactly as it needed to be.

When Wanda felt Cosmo's chest vibrate with a chuckle against her head, she pulled to look at him with a curious smile. "What, silly?"

"Nothing, but-" he stifled another laugh, "I told Mama I was getting milk instead of this."

Despite _that_ drama, Wanda couldn't help but chuckle. "That was your excuse?"

Cosmo nodded eagerly.

"Well, I guess that's how you'll be concluding this night."

Though Wanda expected Cosmo to laugh in return, the green-clad fairy's smile faded quickly. Wanda frowned, that wasn't the Cosmo she knew at all. He lowered his eyes and Wanda tried to recapture his gaze in question. Was it something she said? This time, she was the one thinking hard. Cosmo never really talked about his mother with Wanda, none of them did about their parents unless it had to do with what they'd been dealing with for the past few years in their relationship. Though they were often recruited to overnight godparent training with Jorgen that would last weeks on end, the time they were home would be spent with each other and their everlasting hours together out in Fairy World. And now, they were engaged. Truly devoted to a new chapter. Cosmo finally lifted his eyes, and Wanda couldn't say she recognized the look her fiancé offered her. She creased her brow in confusion.

And then suddenly, it clicked.

"You're not going back, are you..."

Cosmo, who didn't break his serious gaze, slowly shook his head. "I can't."

Wanda tilted her head in empathy. "Cosmo, if we're engaged," she swallowed in fear, "maybe I should try to make a better relationship with your mother..."

"No." Cosmo said, squeezing her hands. "No Wanda, she doesn't deserve you..."

Wanda shrugged. "I don't deserve you."

Cosmo hit her playfully. "Stop." He tried teasing, but it came out worried. He let his forehead fall against his fiancée's. "I don't want her controlling you..."

"Cosmo she won't-"

Wanda could barely continue from the questioning look Cosmo gave her. She succumbed to it quickly. Who was she kidding, the woman was mad.

"I'm not going back, Wanda."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." He nodded. "It's you and me, forever."

Wanda had to resist the urge to kiss him senseless. God, was he adorable. "Okay, I'm on board."

"Huh?"

Wanda gave a small smile. "If your Mama isn't welcome to our wedding, neither is my father."

"Really?" He asked with large, innocent eyes.

"Really, Cosmo. Daddy isn't any more supportive of this relationship than your Mama is. He doesn't deserve anything, either." She squeezed his hands, tightly. "Only people who really support what we have are allowed at this wedding."

Smiling madly, Cosmo brought her into an immediate embrace. Wanda closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, completely giving up all her worried thoughts and just melting in his arms. All of a sudden, Cosmo hoisted Wanda into bridal style and Wanda gave a surprised yelp. Still smiling, he began to carry her to the car.

Without any further words, the fairies drove off into the night. Never to look back, again.

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**Thanks for reading! :)**


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